The burnished burgundy-purple base of Revlon's Sugar Plum, with its hint of bronze, balances the pale indigo of Essie's Stroke of Brilliance just perfectly. This combo just glows, it's an unexpected knockout.
An Accent Nail
Showing posts with label Purple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Purple. Show all posts
Thursday, November 21, 2013
The greatest color combination of all time?
I threw these together on a whim a while back, just to see if they were brilliant or ghastly together. My verdict? BRILLIANT!
The burnished burgundy-purple base of Revlon's Sugar Plum, with its hint of bronze, balances the pale indigo of Essie's Stroke of Brilliance just perfectly. This combo just glows, it's an unexpected knockout.
The burnished burgundy-purple base of Revlon's Sugar Plum, with its hint of bronze, balances the pale indigo of Essie's Stroke of Brilliance just perfectly. This combo just glows, it's an unexpected knockout.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Deep Purple Skittles
Purple: the color of royalty. The color of spring, when bright crocuses pop up and peek at the sun. The color of fall, when some trees change from yellow, to orange, to red, to a nearly livid purple. The last, lingering color of a winter sunset. I love purple.
Zoyas one and all, from left to right: Valerie, Mimi, Mason and Daul.
Zoyas one and all, from left to right: Valerie, Mimi, Mason and Daul.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Artsy Wednesday: Vintage
I wanted to tip a hat to the aesthetic of the '20s-'30s, and did a sort of Art Deco/Geometric manicure with vampy, glamorous colors for this one!
I channeled Doris Duke a bit, with her embrasure of geometric patterns, and so I threw a tropical background into these pictures to further the effect!
Check out the other Artsy Wednesday bloggers; they all do some pretty gorgeous work!
I channeled Doris Duke a bit, with her embrasure of geometric patterns, and so I threw a tropical background into these pictures to further the effect!
I used Julep's Trina and Sienna for the luxe colors, and used striping tape to get the diamond patterns. I love the fancy french tip concept, and with the striping tape this look really is a breeze; just make an X at the tip of your finger with the striping tape and paint the tip color over the gaps in the X. Peel the tape off, and voila!
Check out the other Artsy Wednesday bloggers; they all do some pretty gorgeous work!
And don't forget, I'm having a major giveaway, including 3 Zoya minis as a prize (Plus an Ulta giftcard, a Sephora giftcard, and a Llarowe giftcard as other possible prizes)! Click the image below to enter!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Artsy Wednesday: Inspired by Graffiti
I knew I wasn't going to be able to really emulate graffiti with this manicure; I've never been that good at sharp outlines, so I wanted to take the "inspired by" of this week's theme and run with it.
I was fortunate enough to win a set of MASH nail art brushes from a giveaway Set in Lacquer ran, and I wanted to give the fan brush a shot, to add artistic strokes of bright colors to my nails.
I used Julep's Eileen as a base, and the It Girl April colors, Eden, Abbie and Mackenzie as the bright bright bright graffiti stripes. The white base really made these colors pop, and the manicure kind of reminds me of fruit stripe gum.
I was fortunate enough to win a set of MASH nail art brushes from a giveaway Set in Lacquer ran, and I wanted to give the fan brush a shot, to add artistic strokes of bright colors to my nails.
I used Julep's Eileen as a base, and the It Girl April colors, Eden, Abbie and Mackenzie as the bright bright bright graffiti stripes. The white base really made these colors pop, and the manicure kind of reminds me of fruit stripe gum.
I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Swatchathon: Pretty & Polished Olgite and Concoction
I have to apologize to my readers; my time has been mostly taken up by painting our new house, and so nail polish hasn't been very feasible lately. It's depressing me to look at all my pretty polish and know if I put it on it'll just be wrecked by housepaint!
First off, an update on how my hands are holding up after using solely the Pretty and Polished Sin City Hand and Body Creme for around 3 weeks; note that I've used no other moisturizing ANYTHING, no cuticle oil, no lotion, no balm, no salve, nothing, and I've spent my time either painting our house, spackling, or working in a lab with suffocating polyurethane gloves on:
Not too bad, huh?? I have enjoyed this hand creme way more than I thought I would; I figured it'd be nice, but I didn't think it'd keep my cuticles and hand skin in such good shape! Plus, my boyfriend comments on how good it smells every time I put it on.
So far, I give the Sin City Hand and Body Creme an A+. I'm going to keep using my sample until it's gone, so I'll update you in a few more weeks as to how it does for over a month as my sole moisturizer.
That said, I have a few swatches to share with you today, and hope to post a bit more regularly in the coming future. Today, I'm featuring two polishes that were sent to me, along with the Pretty and Polished Sin City Hand and Body Creme. They're part of the Pretty and Polished permanent line, and are some truly beautiful polishes.
First off, some bottle shots; Concoction is on the left, and Olgite on the right:
Concoction is a stunner; a royal purple jelly with flakies, iridescent glitter and a little bit of scattered holo to top it off? Fabulous! It's been raining here, so I couldn't get a sun picture to show off the holo, but the flakies and iridescent glitter both shine in this picture:
This is two coats, with a fantastic level of coverage for a jelly. The color indoors is typically a royal purple, but it leans a little plummy in brighter lights.
Next, Olgite. Olgite is a blue shimmer with a purpley-pink flash to it; if you look closely at the bottle shot above, you'll see a hint of it. This polish dries semi-matte (satin, if you will), so if you prefer full gloss a topcoat will be a must.
Olgite is a lovely bluebird blue, and that purple/pink flash makes it a pretty special polish. The coverage is good too; above is two coats, plus topcoat.
Olgite and Concoction can be purchased at Pretty and Polished's website. As always, great formulas and great colors!
These products were sent to me for review; all opinions are my own and are not influenced by external sources.
First off, an update on how my hands are holding up after using solely the Pretty and Polished Sin City Hand and Body Creme for around 3 weeks; note that I've used no other moisturizing ANYTHING, no cuticle oil, no lotion, no balm, no salve, nothing, and I've spent my time either painting our house, spackling, or working in a lab with suffocating polyurethane gloves on:
So far, I give the Sin City Hand and Body Creme an A+. I'm going to keep using my sample until it's gone, so I'll update you in a few more weeks as to how it does for over a month as my sole moisturizer.
That said, I have a few swatches to share with you today, and hope to post a bit more regularly in the coming future. Today, I'm featuring two polishes that were sent to me, along with the Pretty and Polished Sin City Hand and Body Creme. They're part of the Pretty and Polished permanent line, and are some truly beautiful polishes.
First off, some bottle shots; Concoction is on the left, and Olgite on the right:
Concoction is a stunner; a royal purple jelly with flakies, iridescent glitter and a little bit of scattered holo to top it off? Fabulous! It's been raining here, so I couldn't get a sun picture to show off the holo, but the flakies and iridescent glitter both shine in this picture:
Next, Olgite. Olgite is a blue shimmer with a purpley-pink flash to it; if you look closely at the bottle shot above, you'll see a hint of it. This polish dries semi-matte (satin, if you will), so if you prefer full gloss a topcoat will be a must.
These products were sent to me for review; all opinions are my own and are not influenced by external sources.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Artsy Wednesday: Earthquake or Seismograph mani!
This kind of nail art, I like. I can do it all with brushes in the bottles of my polish, it's simple, and people will probably ooh and ah when I go to the bank or grocery store, which is always a fun little ego boost!
I used two Pretty & Polished colors as my base; Olgite, a shimmering, duochromey blue with pale purpley-pink at certain angles, and Concoction, a deep purple jelly with holo glitter and iridescent flakies and small glitter (I KNOW, IT'S AMAZING).
Here, I have 2 coats of Olgite:
This polish is a nice opacity, and dries quickly to a satiny finish. It's not matte, but it's not a full shine, probably due to the pigmentation. I like it! I did notice that my second coat needed to be a little thick to prevent dragging the first coat and creating bald patches; the polish wasn't hard to work with, it's just worth noting that a thicker second coat is worth it. Plus, Olgite dries quickly, so no problemo!
Next, I put 2 coats of Concoction on half of each nail:
This polish is sheerer than Olgite, but two coats still provided good coverage (at least of the color of Olgite). This polish is pretty darn gorgeous, these pictures don't do it justice. It's got a great depth, and the smidgeon of flakies in the polish give it a special twist! I'll do lone swatches of Concoction soon, so you can really see how it pops!
Finally, paint a wiggly line down the center of your nail. You can do this a few ways; add strips using the brush of the polish, add strips using a nail art brush, add a wavy line with a nail art brush, add zig-zags. As long as it kind of looks like a seismograph, you've done your job!
I used GOSH Holographic Hero; I figured my nails were too dark to use black. These turned out a little more Flash Gordon than Seismograph, but I really like them anyway!
Disclaimer: The Pretty & Polished polishes featured in this blog entry were provided for review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.
I used two Pretty & Polished colors as my base; Olgite, a shimmering, duochromey blue with pale purpley-pink at certain angles, and Concoction, a deep purple jelly with holo glitter and iridescent flakies and small glitter (I KNOW, IT'S AMAZING).
Here, I have 2 coats of Olgite:
Next, I put 2 coats of Concoction on half of each nail:
This polish is sheerer than Olgite, but two coats still provided good coverage (at least of the color of Olgite). This polish is pretty darn gorgeous, these pictures don't do it justice. It's got a great depth, and the smidgeon of flakies in the polish give it a special twist! I'll do lone swatches of Concoction soon, so you can really see how it pops!
Finally, paint a wiggly line down the center of your nail. You can do this a few ways; add strips using the brush of the polish, add strips using a nail art brush, add a wavy line with a nail art brush, add zig-zags. As long as it kind of looks like a seismograph, you've done your job!
I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.
Disclaimer: The Pretty & Polished polishes featured in this blog entry were provided for review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Artsy Wednesday: Indie
Have I got a glitter bomb of a manicure for you guys!
One of my favorite things about Indie polishes is that they have such different looks to them than mainstream, big-brand polishes have. You couldn't get jewel-encrusted nails like this with just any polish! I used Julep's Amber as a quick base for this (mattes make for fabulous quick drying bases!), then a single layer of Hot Mess's Aquanet, with Hello Dolly by Pretty & Polished on the tips in a glitter gradient.
The mega-hexes of Aquanet make me inordinately happy, and the super-glittery lilac of Hello Dolly, coupled with the freshness of the matte white glitter is a thing of wonder and a joy forever :) I love indie polishes; you get to support small business, you get polishes that just don't exist in the mainstream market, and you get to have a great time combining them to make your very own fancy nail jewelery!
I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
10 Day Nail Art Challenge Day 7: Holiday Marble
Today's holiday marble was supposed to be a water marble, but I'm sick and don't have the patience for a water marble, so I did a drag marble instead! I made little sugarplums on my nails, and even created a little video tutorial to go along with it.
I'm going to have to figure out why the recording is choppy, but it's a start!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Artsy Wednesday: New Years Eve!
PARTY TIME! EXCELLENT!
I have two Hot Mess polishes, Concussion and Yankee Star, that both SCREAM New Years Eve; stars, iridescent glitter, packed with sparkle, a confetti mix of glitter shapes? Yes please!
EXTREEEEEME CLOSEUP!
As an aside, I'm pretty pleased that I'm getting closer to a lighting scheme that doesn't make me look dead. Woo hoo, photographic proof I'm not a zombie!
I have two Hot Mess polishes, Concussion and Yankee Star, that both SCREAM New Years Eve; stars, iridescent glitter, packed with sparkle, a confetti mix of glitter shapes? Yes please!
I popped a layer of Concussion and Yankee Star both over Julep's Morgan, a great grapey royal purple, and I'm ready for a night out on the town!
As an aside, I'm pretty pleased that I'm getting closer to a lighting scheme that doesn't make me look dead. Woo hoo, photographic proof I'm not a zombie!
I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
10 Day Holiday Nail Art Challenge Day 2: Snow/Snowflakes
Snow at dusk, is there anything better?
Check out the other Day 2 entries!
Julep's Viola made the perfect base for HITS Mari Moon Artsy, to create a dusky, multicolored sky look.
OPI Pirouette my Whistle, the real inspiration for this manicure, gave the perfect glittery depth to my snowscape, and OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and Julep Emma for snow on the ground and the moon in the sky finished off this glittery winter wonderland.
Check out the other Day 2 entries!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Artsy Wednesday: Tape Manicure
Striping tape, that is! I made a plaid-icure using striping tape and my new Mari Moon multichromes; these pictures aren't perfect, but they captured the color shift best, and that's something I am really really loving about these polishes!
Paint over your striping tape with one layer of a contrasting color, wait for it to dry, then peel off the tape.
You really do have to be careful with the tape, as I ended up peeling a big chunk of polish off of my ring finger when I pulled it off! I was able to fill it in with a polish brush, but it wasn't quite as neatly done as a tape manicure should be.
To get this plaid-ish, wrapped-present-ish look, paint a layer of black, and then a layer of your multichrome (because multichromes can be kind of thin, and these bottles are pretty small so I wanted to make sure I didn't waste time on a lot of layers). Let everything dry (I waited probably 20 minutes), then add your striping tape in a plaid pattern.
You really do have to be careful with the tape, as I ended up peeling a big chunk of polish off of my ring finger when I pulled it off! I was able to fill it in with a polish brush, but it wasn't quite as neatly done as a tape manicure should be.
I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Indie Spotlight: Pretty & Polished Pretty as a Peacock
This swatcheroo has been a long time coming; I've had this polish to review for a while, and have actually done a very nice manicure with it before, but didn't photograph it at the time. So, apologies for the delay, as this is a particularly neat polish that I'm pretty enthused about the layering and combination possibilities for it!
Pretty as a Peacock is a dense forest green glitter polish, small purple glitter, medium teal hexes, medium purple hexes and slightly larger hexes in a true peacock blue. The minute I unwapped the bottle, I thought "Mardi Gras!" This really is a gorgeous polish, although I do wish there was more purple; I'm a sucker for purple.
I didn't use any underwear on this manicure, and only needed 2 coats for full coverage, which is pretty darn impressive. One coat of Poshe topcoat and there was nary a gritty feeling to be had. I did use the PVA glue as a basecoat, because I'm sure trying to remove this with conventional remover would be a pain.
As I look at the polish more on my nails, I think it's kind of an understated glitter, if that's even possible. It doesn't blow your mind with immediate glitterbomb explosions, but the subtle differences in the teals and blues with little pops of purple cumulate into a really neat effect.
This polish, and many other awesome polishes, can be purchased at the Pretty & Polished Etsy store.
Disclaimer: I purchased these items with my own money, at a discounted price for use in a review on my blog. My opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way by Pretty & Polished.
Pretty as a Peacock is a dense forest green glitter polish, small purple glitter, medium teal hexes, medium purple hexes and slightly larger hexes in a true peacock blue. The minute I unwapped the bottle, I thought "Mardi Gras!" This really is a gorgeous polish, although I do wish there was more purple; I'm a sucker for purple.
As I look at the polish more on my nails, I think it's kind of an understated glitter, if that's even possible. It doesn't blow your mind with immediate glitterbomb explosions, but the subtle differences in the teals and blues with little pops of purple cumulate into a really neat effect.
This polish, and many other awesome polishes, can be purchased at the Pretty & Polished Etsy store.
Disclaimer: I purchased these items with my own money, at a discounted price for use in a review on my blog. My opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way by Pretty & Polished.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Artsy Wednesday: Creative with Crackle
I have never owned a crackle polish, until yesterday. I never actually liked them, but the whole point of my wanting to participate with Artsy Wednesday was to try new things, right? Right??
I ran out to Sally's to snag one of the China Glaze crackles that are practically always on clearance there, and picked up Haute Metal, a rosy metallic crackle. I figured "creative" required more than just crackling the whole nail, so I did oblique stripes per nail, over Orly Ingenue. Thus, a fairly pretty, candylike manicure was born!
Upon staring at my nails and trying to think of other ways I could use crackle, it occurred to me that it looked like a similar texture to a lipstick print. I may try using this on valentines, to make little lip prints on my nails. We'll see!
I ran out to Sally's to snag one of the China Glaze crackles that are practically always on clearance there, and picked up Haute Metal, a rosy metallic crackle. I figured "creative" required more than just crackling the whole nail, so I did oblique stripes per nail, over Orly Ingenue. Thus, a fairly pretty, candylike manicure was born!
Upon staring at my nails and trying to think of other ways I could use crackle, it occurred to me that it looked like a similar texture to a lipstick print. I may try using this on valentines, to make little lip prints on my nails. We'll see!
I'm really honored to be able to participate in Artsy Wednesday, and you should all DEFINITELY check out these other, very talented Artsy Wednesday participants.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Swatchathon: Zoya Cool edition
Well, it's time to wrap up Zoya week here at An Accent Nail, and we'll finish out the color showcase with the cool-toned Zoyas.
First off we have Edyta and Yara, two deep greens with gold shimmer. Edyta is a blackened forest green, while Yara is a dark khaki-olive green. I'm amazed both of these colors work with my skin, as you'd think one or the other would clash, but I think the shimmer in both softens the base colors enough to make them much more universally wearable Both have fabulous coverage and very easy-to-work-with formulas.
First off we have Edyta and Yara, two deep greens with gold shimmer. Edyta is a blackened forest green, while Yara is a dark khaki-olive green. I'm amazed both of these colors work with my skin, as you'd think one or the other would clash, but I think the shimmer in both softens the base colors enough to make them much more universally wearable Both have fabulous coverage and very easy-to-work-with formulas.
Index/Middle: Edyta, Ring/Pinkie: Yara
Index/Middle: Edyta, Ring/Pinkie: Yara
Next up, Frida and Ki. While these look slightly similar in the bottle, they're night and day on the nail. Frida is a teal jelly polish; it's great for layering, but on its own it'd take 4+ coats to become totally opaque. It also has a fabulous sheen to it when it dries, much shinier than most polishes without a topcoat!
Ki is a purple/sage duochrome that is metallic in finish. The color shift is noticeable both on the nail and in the bottle, and this polish is an awful lot of fun to wear. I love a duochrome, as it makes gazing at my manicure (which I often do when bored) much more interesting.
Index/Middle: Frida Ring/Pinky: Ki
Index/Middle: Frida Ring/Pinky: Ki
Our next head-to-head is Skylar vs. Tallulah. Skylar really surprised me when I got it; I was expecting a dusty blue with a hint of shimmer, but this polish really sparkles! It's not glittery, more of a glassfleck-like shimmer, but it definitely packs more of a punch than meets the eye. Tallulah is a wonderful saturated blue raspberry color; it's a great color for nail art, and really pops.
Index/Middle: Skylar Ring/Pinky: Tallulah
Index/Middle: Skylar Ring/Pinky: Tallulah
These next polishes are some real gems. Kotori is a sheer-ish blue shimmer with a blackened base; the depth to this polish is just incredible. I did need 3 thin coats to get rid of visible nail line, but the dry time isn't too bad and the punch this polish packs is worth it. Akyra is a teal shimmer, with smaller shimmer particles, in a blackened base. It's also sheer, took 3 coats, but is such an unusual color that I again think it's totally worth it. It's like a robins egg at night!
Index/Middle: Kotori Ring/Pinky: Akyra
Index/Middle: Kotori Ring/Pinky: Akyra
Let's look at the green shimmer twins in Zoya's retinue, shall we? Ivanka and Apple look super similar in the bottle, and while they're "similar" on the nail, they're definitely not duplicate colors. Ivanka is an emerald or jungle green with a fair amount of gold shimmer involved, while Apple is more of a lime green with more gold shimmer than Ivanka. Apple had fuller coverage at 2 coats, but I think Ivanka has more depth of color. I'm glad I ended up getting both; this is similar to the Tiffany/Rica duo where one color (Ivanka) would be better for fall/winter, and another (Apple) for spring/summer.
Index/Middle: Ivanka Ring/Pinky: Apple
Index/Middle: Ivanka Ring/Pinky: Apple
Purple time! Neeka and Dannii have similar finishes, a metallic shimmer, but are totally different color-wise. Neeka is a dusty plum with gold and micro-purple shimmer, while Dannii is a light metallic violet-lavender with gold and silver shimmer. I liked Neeka so much with my skin that I promptly did a full manicure with it once I was done swatching!
Index/Middle: Neeka, Ring/Pinky: Dannii
Index/Middle: Neeka, Ring/Pinky: Dannii
Next, our summer duo. These two are nothing alike, and technically Creamy is a warm tone, but I had nothing comparable to either of these so I slapped them together. I think they're fairly complimentary, actually. First we have Creamy, a yellow polish. This one has a tricky formula, with patchiness even at 2 coats, but a third would fix that up. Zuza is a metallic turquoise that people blew their stacks over this summer! It is a very nice color, but I found that application required a gentle hand to prevent dragging and bald spots. However, the color payoff in both of these is great, so I'm overall glad I have them both in my collection.
Index/Middle: Creamy, Ring/Pinky: Zuza
Index/Middle: Creamy, Ring/Pinky: Zuza
That's all folks! That's all the Zoyas I own (for now, hah!), I hope you enjoyed Zoya week as much as I did!
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